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Thursday, June 2, 2011

Roxie Stages

Over the I Wake Up Dreaming series at the Roxie, I was able to catch Roxie Stages twice.

The inspiration [of Roxie Stages] is to bring back dazzling, funky, and unforgettable performances, reviving the Roxie’s original function as a venue for Vaudeville-esque variety shows, a place where live entertainment and films are regularly presented in concert.

Both times I saw Roxie Stages, Danny Dechi, the No. 1 No. 2 pencil musician, performed. From reading the Chronicle article, I'm glad he has a day job. The pencil music wasn't bad but his jokes were awful. In fact, he was heckled the first time I saw him perform.

I also saw Rasa Vitalia perform an uptempo belly dance which was very good. She balanced a sword on her head in another dance.

After that, I don't remember the names of the acts. I definitely did not see the 77 year old stripper. I saw a three piece jazz band and an electric guitarist singing power blues. I think I'm missing an act somewhere.

I wasn't too impressed by Roxie Stages. It has an old-timey feel but somehow I think the quality of the acts were better in the vaudeville era. Judging by the audience's reaction, I think I received Roxie Stages better than most. Many people didn't bother to stop playing on their cell phones during the performances.